The original Obamacare thread wound up addressing evolution, global warming, religion and a host of other things. It was closed and it should have been. However, there was a lot of FUD being disseminated in that thread about the original subject. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/8-biggest-mix-ups-about-health-care-reform.html came out too late to address that, but I'm posting it here. Frankly, I'm a bit tired of the subject, but I couldn't let the FUD remain unanswered.

Fact: While most uninsured Americans will be required to buy health insurance or pay a penalty (or tax, if you like) beginning in 2014, several groups are exempt from the so-called individual mandate.

They include those whose income is so low, they don't file federal tax returns; anyone who would have to spend more than 8 percent of their income on health insurance; undocumented immigrants; people who are incarcerated; members of Native American tribes; and those who qualify for a religious exemption.

There's also one other large set of people who won't need to buy health insurance.

"Everybody who is eligible for Medicaid or Medicare does not have to purchase additional coverage," notes Deborah Chollet, a senior fellow at Mathematica Policy Research in Washington, D.C., who is helping states set up the new health exchanges where consumers will shop for insurance.

Private researchers have found that only a very small percentage of Americans will be subject to the individual mandate penalty, maintains Kathleen Stoll, director of health policy for the health care consumer group Families USA.

Fact: On the contrary, many new consumer protections under the Affordable Care Act are already benefiting people with job-based health insurance.

For example, the health care reform law bars insurers from placing lifetime limits on what they will pay for a worker's medical care, plus there are new restrictions on annual benefit limits, says Brian Chiglinsky, spokesman for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. "Insurers are no longer able to arbitrarily cancel your insurance policy when you get sick, except in cases of fraud," he adds.

Other new features for job-based policies include: no more copayments or deductibles for preventive health services, including cancer screenings; the right to see obstetricians and gynecologists without a referral; better access to out-of-network services in an emergency; protections against unfair administrative fees; and the right to keep dependents younger than 26 on your policy.

Rather than centralize health insurance, health care reform accomplishes many of the goals of so-called universal coverage through its interwoven expansion of the existing Medicaid program, increased federal regulation of the health insurance industry and tax credits to make private insurance more affordable.

The law does call for the creation of new insurance plans, but the government won't run them, Chollet says. "The federal Office of Personnel Management is required to contract with at least two private insurance carriers, including at least one nonprofit, to offer coverage in every market nationwide," she explains. "They can contract with more than two, and some of these nonprofits are consumer-owned and operated health plans called co-ops."

4) Business befuddlement

Fiction: All businesses will be required to provide employee health insurance.

Fact: The Affordable Care Act does not require employers to provide health coverage.

However, it does impose a penalty on larger employers that either do not offer a plan or offer unaffordable coverage.

"The law specifically exempts all firms that have fewer than 50 employees -- 96 percent of all firms in the United States, or 5.8 million out of 6 million total firms -- from any employer responsibility requirements," says Chiglinsky. "More than 96 percent of firms with 50 or more employees already offer health insurance to their workers. Less than 0.2 percent of all firms (about 10,000 out of 6 million) may face employer responsibility requirements."

The health care law features a variety of incentives meant to encourage small businesses to insure their employees, including tax credits and access to more affordable plans through new Small Business Health Options Programs, or SHOPs, that will be part of the state insurance exchanges.

The SHOPs will give small businesses "the clout that big businesses already enjoy when purchasing insurance," Chiglinsky adds.

And not only that, but they also are ineligible to receive Medicaid insurance for the poor or to purchase health insurance with their own money in the state exchanges when those open in 2014.

Legal immigrants who have resided in the United States for less than five years are similarly ineligible for federal assistance, though the states have the option of extending coverage to pregnant women and children while they await legal status.

"Undocumented immigrants are still in the same difficult situation they have always been in," says Chollet.

6) 'Death panels' notion lives on

Fiction: Health reform creates a "death panel" to make decisions about end-of-life care for seniors.

Fact: Early drafts of health care reform would have allowed Medicare to reimburse physicians for time spent talking with older patients about advance care planning. But these provisions were eliminated in subsequent revisions.

I'd linked to this on the Nation Debt thread, but it's relevant to this one too. The CBO has determined that the Affordable Care Act will actually reduce the National Debt over time. You can read about their report http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43080.

Another bit of FUD dispelled. I'll make a bet with anybody who cares to make it with me. Despite the points in the original post and despite this latest CBO assessment, the opponents of the law will continue to hammer home the same points to their audiences as if none of this information existed. They won't even try to refute it; they'll just pretend that it doesn't exist. And the vast majority of their audience won't bother to look up the facts for themselves. They'll just echo the same points as their leadership.

Despite the points in the original post and despite this latest CBO assessment, the opponents of the law will continue to hammer home the same points to their audiences as if none of this information existed. They won't even try to refute it; they'll just pretend that it doesn't exist. And the vast majority of their audience won't bother to look up the facts for themselves. They'll just echo the same points as their leadership.

Idiots all of them. And I won't take your bet!

I can understand disagreeing with (and opposing) the law on principle. But ignoring the evidence takes a special kind of stupidity which, unfortunately, is becoming very common in this country. It is sad that so many people are too lazy to do any research or thinking on their own and simply accept and parrot what others say. Both sides do it, but one side has turned it into a strategy.

On a conference call last week, CEO and founder John Schnatter (a Mitt Romney supporter and fundraiser) said the health care law's changes — set to go into effect in 2014 — will result in higher costs for the company — which they vowed to pass onto consumers.

"Our best estimate is that the Obamacare will cost 11 to 14 cents per pizza, or 15 to 20 cents per order from a corporate basis," Schnatter said.

It always amuses me when executives talk about passing costs on to consumers. The market determines what companies can charge. If they were free to pass on all costs then they would simply pass on more profit now. They can only pass on costs if their competitors do as well

It always amuses me when executives talk about passing costs on to consumers. The market determines what companies can charge. If they were free to pass on all costs then they would simply pass on more profit now. They can only pass on costs if their competitors do as well

True, but if their competitors are facing the same costs increases, it stands to reason they all will.

C'mon guys. We're talking 11 to 14 cents per pizza. I expect that cheese costs alone are going to drive prices higher than that. This drought is making cattle feed very expensive.

I didn't make any comment as to whether the expected increase was significant or not.... but now I will.

An 11 to 14 cent increase per pizza is not enough to make me not buy a pizza I wanted, or if my favorite pizza shop raised their prices by 11 to 14 cents and no other pizza shop did, I'd still buy from my favorite... so at least for me, they could raise their prices even if their competitors did not.

The Affordable Care Act is a health care law that aims to improve our current health care system by increasing access to health coverage for Americans and introducing new protections for people who have health insurance. The law helps small businesses pay for health insurance for their employees. And it supports programs that will help increase the number of primary care physicians, nurses, physician assistants and other health care professionals.

The Affordable Care Act is a health care law that aims to improve our current health care system by increasing access to health coverage for Americans and introducing new protections for people who have health insurance. The law helps small businesses pay for health insurance for their employees.

I was under the impression it required small businesses with greater than 50 employees to offer health insurance or pay a fine per employee? I'm curious how does the ACA help small businesses pay for health insurance?

The Affordable Care Act is a health care law that aims to improve our current health care system by increasing access to health coverage for Americans and introducing new protections for people who have health insurance. The law helps small businesses pay for health insurance for their employees.

I was under the impression it required small businesses with greater than 50 employees to offer health insurance or pay a fine per employee? I'm curious how does the ACA help small businesses pay for health insurance?

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